Professional Certifications
Posted on July 6, 2009 in Marketing, Newsletter, Program Development
A Lucrative Alternative to Degree Programs
People often view educational certificates—which prove competency within a specific skill-set—as trade school fare. However, when the shortage of well-prepared professionals is pressing, and when traditional programs are falling short in equipping students with the skills they need for today’s job market, certificates serve as a very lucrative alternative.
While tales of corporate layoffs still pepper the nightly news shows, another side to the current American job market reveals itself–-many U.S. industries actually have difficulty finding qualified applicants with proper accreditations for their open positions. Colleges and universities should take note of this educational chasm and offer students programs to acquire the knowledge and skills they need, whether through complete online degrees or occupation-specific online certificates.
According to David Moltz in his article “No Worker Left Behind,” published on www.insidehighered.com, students who earn academic degrees do not actively seek out skill certificates, as they do not realize the value of these certificates in the industrial job market. Moltz argues that the leaders of some of the largest industrial manufacturing industries in the United States are imploring colleges to proactively help students attain skill certifications alongside their traditional and online degrees.
Perhaps some students bypass earning certificates because they do not associate them with the “flashy” careers they seek in this pop-culture world. In his article “Educating ‘Middle-Skill’ Workers,” also published on www.insidehighered.com, David Moltz quoted John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers (and former governor of Michigan), as saying, “There’s an image problem with some of these [middle-skill jobs and programs].” Engler urges colleges and universities to show students the financial value of earning certificates, enabling students to view these “middle-skill” positions as fiscally secure stepping stones into skilled careers.
One can no longer just be willing to work and be slightly skilled or even unskilled. Employers today search for applicants who already possess the skills and knowledge to perform a specific job. On www.manufacturingskills.org, Dennis Rohrs, human resource manager for Fort Wayne Metals, Inc., said, “In other words, we can’t afford to make a mistake—to hire someone without the right skills. Verifiable skills certification programs can make the difference between a good investment and a high-risk hire.”
Certifications have no doubt gained importance at the forefront of available jobs in American industry, but which certificates will provide the most employment value for students? For starters, certifications of trade skills within the U.S. manufacturing and construction industries, such as metalworking or welding, can give students immediate access to skilled labor positions.
In his article “Educating ‘Middle-Skill’ Workers,” Moltz quoted Ellen Alberding, president of the Joyce Foundation, as saying, “There is an employment paradox in this country…. Even in the midst of massive layoffs, employers cannot find enough skilled workers.” Moltz went on to discuss a projection from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which indicates that “during the next decade, 45 percent of job openings will be in “middle-skill” positions. These jobs encompass a wide swath of professions from construction supervisors and machinists to dental hygienists and paralegals.”
Clearly, skilled labor requirements for manufacturing jobs represent only the tip of the iceberg. Certificate programs in property management, homeland security, counseling, nuclear engineering technology, mining management and even computer game design provide graduates with an immediate edge in those fields, even right out of school. This gives recent graduates a massive advantage as they job hunt during a recession.
When exploring the large scope of industries that desire skilled workers for immediate job openings, one can easily see the importance of earning certifications alongside degrees earned online. Certification programs not only prepare students for a particular job, but they also provide them with concrete expert or transferable skills that pertain to a range of fields, giving them an advantage in entire industries.
Today’s job market does not leave much room for yesterday’s “idealistic” career approach. Students must have realistic job expectations and understand how to climb the career ladder, where one job leads into another. Earning a certificate in combination with a degree delivers a more marketable package to potential employers, especially to the industries within the United States that need specialized workers. One can no longer assume that a graduate will land an “end-all, be-all” career right out of school. However, occupation-specific skill certificates will provide the foundational building blocks for jobs that can eventually lead to a successful career.
Colleges and universities that enable students to earn degrees and certificates simultaneously help fill a workforce gap, which, if left unchecked, will make it much more difficult for America to recover from the current economic downturn. In today’s economic torment, educators must take responsibility to educate tomorrow’s workforce. In these times, that responsibility becomes a much larger national obligation for the industries that helped to build this country and sustain the education system in turn.
As the saying goes, a nation is only as good as its workforce. Therefore, we must step up and prepare the workforce with proper education and skill training.
